Choosing to leave one’s home is one of the last major decisions a senior citizen may make, and one of the most difficult. A local company serving the Capital District and beyond is helping to make not only the decision but also the transition a comfortable, stress-free process.

David Kubikian is a principal with Herzog Law Firm in Saratoga Springs.

By David Kubikian

When I meet with prospective clients who want to engage in estate or elder law planning, it is not uncommon to hear them forcefully tell me something along the lines of, “I will never go to a nursing home” and/or hear them allude to preferring to take walk in the woods and “take matters into their own hands”

I understand what they are saying. It should be nobody’s life goal to ever call a skilled nursing facility their home. Nonetheless, we don’t always have a choice in life and the truth is that with caring and compassionate skilled care, the quality of our life can greatly be enhanced, even in a nursing home. There is however, an alternative called “aging in place”.

Brian M. Johnson, director of business development. New York Long Term Care Brokers Ltd.

By Brian M. Johnson, MBA, CLTC

If you’re approaching age 50 or thinking of retirement, keep this acronym in mind “SWAN.”

Surveys from folks in this retirement planning age group are interesting because these concerns are almost always in their answers to questions such as:What do you worry about after your working years are over?

Here are some top concerns:

• Outliving my money.

• Keeping my nest-egg secure (no or little risk of principal).

• Dying too soon.

• Becoming sick or disabled which in turn could eat up my retirement nest-egg.

• Becoming dependent on my children.

• Leaving a meaningful and significant legacy to my children/grand-children/charity.

These concerns are real-life and can happen to any of us without proper planning

This is where my “SWAN” comes in. It stands for Sleep Well at Night.

If you have this SWAN wish for yourself or a parent/family member, then you need to speak with a competent financial/insurance advisor that knows about a fairly new financial-insurance product that is extremely popular to folks approaching age 50 and above.

It combines long term care, critical illness and life insurance along with tax advantaged cash value build up that can be used as an annuity income stream for retirement.

Tom VanAernem, owner of VanAernem Realty and Associates, recommends people look into senior housing or look into building their own homes when considering downsizing.

By Liz Witbeck

One trend in the real estate field in recent years is that people want less space as they get older. People are looking for something smaller and more affordable. This is especially common with folks who have retired.

“Ninety percent of people who walk through our doors are looking to downsize,” said Vickie Rehberg a real estate salesperson for Better Way Realty in Fort Edward.

Rehberg moved to New York four years ago from Florida, where she was a licensed Realtor. She has extensive experience working with buyers looking to downsize.

Rehberg herself knows how it feels to downsize a home, because she did it herself. When living in Florida, she lived in a home that was more than 3,000 square feet. When she decided to move to New York to be closer to her son, she purchased a home that was less than 1,000 square feet.

“It’s a big relief” said Rehberg. “You think, ‘Why didn’t I do this sooner?’”

For people looking to retire, Glens Falls, Queensbury and the surrounding region offer many options.

We’re halfway through 2017, so it’s time to take a look at how the year is progressing, and where we see the remainder of the year going, in terms of risks and opportunities in the economy.

The economy has grown at a faster-than-expected pace so far this year. First quarter GDP has been revised up, twice, and well exceeds expectations. Almost all of the S&P has reported earning for its first fiscal quarter of the year, and are trending toward a year-over-year growth of upwards of 20 percent (12 percent, not including the energy sector). These are largely due to top line revenue increases, meaning that increased profits are largely due to business growth, rather than cost cutting. We expect this trend to continue throughout the year.

Inflation is holding steady, in line with 2016 figures, at roughly 2 percent. Some inflation, perhaps counter-intuitively, is fundamentally good for the economy. When we expect goods and services to be more expensive tomorrow than they are today, we make purchases today, which means inventories need to be replenished, which puts people to work and gives them money to spend on the things they want and need. Without some inflation, the economy stagnates.

Another driver of spending this year may be interest rates. The Fed increased rates another .25 percent in June, as was expected. With the Fed finally making good on promises to increase the rates they charge banks, we’ll see that increase reflected in higher mortgage rates. The expectation of higher future rates pushes fence-sitting potential buyers into the housing market. As a result we’ve seen, and will likely continue to see, increased sales of new and previously owned homes. The same will likely be true of any purchases which are typically made on credit, including automobiles and business capital items.

An asset class that may be hurt by rising interest rates, however, would be bonds – specifically many bond funds. As newly issued bonds carry higher interest rates, the value of previously issued bonds, with relatively lower interest rates, should decrease. These changes should be reflected in the overall value of the funds that hold them.

With baby boomers beginning to turn 80 in 2026, states must accelerate the pace of improving long-term services and supports (LTSS) for older people and adults with disabilities, according to AARP’s new state scorecard released in June.

The report, Picking Up The Pace of Change: A State Scorecard on Long-Term Services and Supports for Older Adults, People with Physical Disabilities, and Family Caregivers (Scorecard), shows that although most states have made some progress, the pace of change overall remains too slow and has not kept up with demographic demands.

LTSS includes assistance with activities of daily living provided to older adults and people with disabilities who cannot perform these activities on their own because of physical, cognitive, or chronic health conditions. The types of assistance include such things as help with bathing, dressing, managing medications, preparing meals, and transportation, as well as support for family caregivers.

“This Scorecard sounds the alarm, but it also provides a range of tools states can use to spark new solutions and create systems that are aligned with the new realities of aging and living with a disability,” said Susan Reinhard, RN, Ph.D. and senior vice president and director of the AARP Public Policy Institute. “The proposed cuts to Medicaid—the largest public payer of long-term assistance—would result in millions of older adults and people with disabilities losing lifesaving supports.”

The Scorecard was funded by AARP Foundation, the Commonwealth Fund and the SCAN Foundation. It is the third edition of the Scorecard.

Officials said the Scorecard ranks states based on their performance on LTSS in five main categories: affordability and access; choice of setting and provider; quality of life and quality of care; support for family caregivers; and effective transitions between nursing homes, hospitals and homes

Within the five categories, states are scored on their performance in 25 specific indicators, including such things as Medicaid spending, nursing home cost, home health aide supply, antipsychotic medication use among nursing home residents, long nursing home stays, employment rate of people with disabilities, and support of working caregivers.

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